Past Webinars in the Air Research Series

EPA hosted this webinar series to share research activities and results related to air quality; impacts of air pollution and climate change; and responses to impacts of climate change, transformations of the energy and transportation infrastructure, and other emerging risks to our environment from atmospheric pollution.

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About Past Webinars

Closed-captioned recordings and descriptions of the webinars are provided below. Certificates of attendance cannot be provided for viewing webinar recordings.

Wildfire Advancing Science Partnerships for Indoor Reductions of Smoke Exposures (ASPIRE) Study

Watch the Recording: Wildfire Advancing Science Partnerships for Indoor Reductions of Smoke Exposures (ASPIRE) Study (Presented on May 21, 2025)*

Many communities throughout the US are routinely exposed to elevated concentrations of particulate matter (PM) in wildland fire smoke. A common public health message is for people to go indoors when outdoor PM levels are elevated. While PM infiltration in single family homes has been relatively well studied, less is known about how much comes indoors in commercial and nonresidential buildings (such as libraries, fitness centers, and schools). To fill knowledge gaps on smoke infiltration and mitigation indoors, EPA researchers worked with community partners in Montana and California on a multifaceted study called the Wildfire Advancing Science Partnerships for Indoor Reductions of Smoke Exposures (ASPIRE) Study. This study began in 2019 and examined wildfire smoke indoor air quality impacts in public spaces and innovative approaches to reduce wildfire smoke indoors. This presentation will provide an overview of study components and some of the key results.

Presenters: Amara Holder and Sarah Coefield, EPA Office of Research and Development

* Joint webinar with the EPA Tools and Resources Webinar Series

Airborne Survey - Methane from U.S. Landfills

Watch the Recording: Airborne Survey - Methane from U.S. Landfills (Presented on November 19, 2024)

The use of next generation emissions measurement (NGEM) technology is reducing uncertainty associated with quantifying landfill methane. Through a partnership with Carbon Mapper and NASA, remote sensing data were collected using aircraft to geolocate large leaks and to quantify methane emissions from over 20% of the 2600 landfills in the US. Over this past decade, innovations in NGEM technology for landfill applications have occurred increasing transparency and improving monitoring and mitigation. Today there is wider availability of remote sensing data from satellites and aircraft. Remote sensing data are being used to inform mitigation and best practices for minimizing fugitive loss. The data are also being used to inform landfill inspections and document emission reductions. EPA is working with others NGOs, industry, and academia to evaluate different technologies for quantifying and mitigating landfill methane. This webinar will provide an overview of EPA's research program to evaluate NGEM technology to better detect and quantify landfill methane.

Presenter: Susan Thorneloe, EPA Office of Research and Development

Health Impacts of Air Pollutants Beyond Cardiovascular or Respiratory Effects

Watch the Recording: Health Impacts of Air Pollutants Beyond Cardiovascular or Respiratory Effects (Presented on August 20, 2024)

This presentation highlighted research from EPA scientists that examines associations between air pollution and health impacts other than cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Some of these health impacts include reproductive, pregnancy, and birth outcomes; child and developmental health; nervous system, cognitive, and mental health; metabolic, liver, and kidney diseases; cancers; and interactions and modifiers of associations.

Presenters: Kristen Rappazzo and Anne Weaver, EPA Office of Research and Development

Beyond PM2.5: The Other Effects of Wildfires on Air and Water Quality

Watch the Recording: Beyond PM2.5: The Other Effects of Wildfires on Air and Water Quality (Presented on March 26, 2024)

This webinar includes a presentation on wildland fire smoke which impacts millions of people in the U.S. every year. While the negative impacts of PM2.5 on air quality and human health are well established, wildland fires mobilize other pollutants that impact EPA’s mission areas of clean air and clean water, with implications for human health. This webinar discusses a wide range of effects of wildland fire on air and water quality, including emerging science on the topic (e.g., pollutants mobilized through the burning of human infrastructure). Finally, the webinar discusses how this research can inform public communications on the risks of wildland fire and approaches to mitigate those risks.

Presenters: Amara Holder and Steve LeDuc, EPA Office of Research and Development

Cleaner Indoor Air During Wildfires Challenge : Phase II Winners

Watch the Recording: Cleaner Indoor Air During Wildfires Challenge : Phase II Winners (Presented on February 20, 2024)

Exposure to PM2.5, an air pollutant from wildfire smoke and other sources, can be harmful to lung and heart health, especially for those with pre-existing health conditions. Recommended responses to reduce smoke exposure during wildfires include staying indoors with tightly sealed doors and windows and utilizing air filtration systems. Given that current indoor air filtration technologies have limitations that prevent widespread use, EPA and its federal, state, local, and Tribal partners held a Challenge to encourage the development of prototypes for novel, effective, low-cost technologies to reduce indoor PM2.5 concentrations and protect public health during wildfire smoke events. During this webinar, winners shared their innovative prototypes for low-cost solutions that safely reduce indoor fine particulate matter during periods when outdoor PM2.5 concentrations are high.

Presenter: Sarah Coefield, EPA Office of Research and Development

Next Generation Emission Measurements: Helping to Improve Air Quality and Source Understanding

Watch the Recording: Next Generation Emission Measurements: Helping to Improve Air Quality and Source Understanding (Presented on October 17, 2023)

Industrial and waste management facilities can emit air pollutants and odorous compounds from fugitive leaks, process malfunctions, and area sources that are difficult to predict, quantify, and manage. These sources can produce a range of environmental and life quality impacts and create significant uncertainty and stress for industries, regulators, and fenceline communities.

EPA’s Next Generation Emissions Measurements (NGEM) research program works with a range of partners to develop and test emerging air monitoring tools that can assist facilities in the detection and management of these air pollution sources. NGEM is helping industries reduce emissions and is enabling new measurement-based emissions management and inventory strategies. Lower-cost NGEM tools are now beginning to help fenceline communities better understand the air they breathe. This webinar provides a brief overview of several NGEM techniques that are useful at the intersection of industries and communities. Leak detection and fenceline sensors, mobile monitoring, specialized measurements for air toxics, and the fusion of sensor data with new information tools, such as EPA’s emerging Odor Explore App, will be discussed.

Presenters: Eben Thoma and Rachelle Duvall, EPA Office of Research and Development

Tools for Helping State and Municipal Decision Makers Make Air, Quality, and Climate Objectives: GLIMPSE and COMET

Watch the Recording: Tools for Helping State and Municipal Decision Makers Make Air, Quality, and Climate Objectives: GLIMPSE and COMET (Presented on August 15, 2023)

Local, state, and regional authorities are facing many challenges, including those caused by climate change, urbanization, limited natural resources, and aging infrastructure. In developing management strategies, these authorities also have the objectives of promoting economic development, protecting the environment, and providing clean and affordable energy. The result is a complex decision-making landscape. Decision makers would benefit from tools that help them quantify the impacts of potential management strategies, identify the tradeoffs among planning objectives, and develop win-win solutions.  EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) has been building two such tools: GLIMPSE and COMET. This presentation will describe how these frameworks can be used to support state and municipal planning.  

GLIMPSE is a decision support tool that assists EPA program offices, states, researchers, and others with long-term environmental, climate, and energy planning. GLIMPSE stands for the “GCAM Long-term Interactive Multi-Pollutant Scenario Evaluator,” where GCAM is the “Global Change Analysis Model.” GCAM is an open-source, publicly available human-Earth systems model with state-level resolution. GLIMPSE can be used for activities such as projecting greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions into the future, evaluating the energy and emissions impacts of specific policy options, and identifying cost-effective strategies for meeting multi-pollutant goals. GLIMPSE version 1.0 was released to the public in June 2023.

City-based Optimization Model for Energy Technologies (COMET) is an energy-environment-economic optimization model. COMET is designed to capture the whole energy system at the city level for a user-defined analysis timeline, from the introduction of the energy sources to conversion into useful energy to meet end-use energy service demands. COMET allows users to examine the next 40-50 years of energy technology evolution. The model provides long-term prospects for practical and applicable energy policy solutions, especially for cities that aim to achieve emissions reduction targets. 

Presenters: Dan Loughlin and Ozge Kaplan, EPA Office of Research and Development

How Does Air Pollution Affect Plants and Ecosystems?

Watch the Recording: How Does Air Pollution Affect Plants and Ecosystems? (Presented on March 21, 2023)

The effects of air pollution on plants have been studied since the early 1800s. By the 1960’s, growing concerns about the detrimental effects of air pollution on human health and the environment spurred the passage of the U.S. Clean Air Act in 1970. Part of the Clean Air Act is designated to protect the environment from pollutants such as smog and acid rain. This webinar will discuss air pollution research on trees, crops, and ecosystems, with a focus on ground-level ozone from the last several decades to the present. How this research can be used to inform policy at the EPA and other agencies will be also be discussed.

Presenters: Jeffrey Herrick, EPA Office of Research and Development

What Can We Learn From a Consistent 18-Year Data Set?

Watch the Recording: What Can We Learn From a Consistent 18-Year Data Set? (Presented on September 20, 2022)

EPA scientists have developed a set of modeled meteorology, emissions, air quality, and pollutant depositions spanning the years 2002 through 2019 called EPA’s Air QUAlity TimE Series Project (EQUATES).  The air quality and deposition data are being used by epidemiologists and ecologists to study decadal trends in pollution and link air quality to adverse health and ecological effects. An example of this is the Total Deposition Measurement Model Fusion (TDep MMF) product which combines EQUATES data with measured data to produce spatially gridded estimates for total, dry, and wet deposition. The meteorology and emissions data from EQUATES are being used to test if incorporating new scientific research into the algorithms of the air quality model lead to improved estimates of pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter.  Developers of the database will provide information about EQUATES and how it can be applied, and users of the data will offer additional perspective. More information on EQUATES.

Presenters: Kristen Foley and Gregory Beachely, EPA Office of Research and Development

Why Should We Care About Air Pollution Toxicity?

Watch the Recording: Why Should We Care About Air Pollution Toxicity? (Presented on July 19, 2022)

This webinar includes a presentation about the Smoke Ready Communities research which provides an overview of some of the U.S. EPA’s seminal particulate matter (PM) toxicology studies, as well as recent findings, including the assessment of health effects observed in experimental models that mimic healthy and potentially susceptible populations (children, elderly, and those with pre-existing disease), and the utility of such data in establishing the scientific basis that informs regulatory actions.

Presenters: Aimen Farraj and Jason Sacks, EPA Office of Research and Development

Smoke Ready Communities Research Study

Watch the Recording: Smoke Ready Communities Research Study (Presented on June 21, 2022)

This webinar, hosted by the EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) was recorded on June 21, 2022. The webinar is part of EPA’s Air, Climate, & Energy Research webinar series. This webinar includes a presentation and panel discussion about the Smoke Ready Communities research partnership which examines collaborative strategies for increasing community capacity to mitigate the public health impacts associated with wildland fire smoke events. Wildfire smoke is affecting communities across the United States with increased frequency. During significant wildfire smoke events, environmental health professionals in local and state public health agencies are responsible for sharing information and resources that supports community members to reduce exposure. The presentation will provide participants an overview of the study partnership including objectives, approach, and outcomes, along with insights into how the partnership is influencing public health response to wildfire smoke at the local level.

Presenters: Mary Clare Hano, EPA Office of Research and Development; Jackie Thompson & John Rolich, Butte-Silver Bow Health Department; Ted White, Garfield County Public Health Department

Resilience of Ecosystems in a Changing Climate

Watch the Recording: Resilience of Ecosystems in a Changing Climate (Presented on November 16, 2021)

Climate change has vast detrimental impacts on ecosystems and communities. Researchers at EPA are investigating the resilience of ecosystems to climate change and natural disasters and developing tools that can be used to help sustain and protect them. This webinar will highlight the following ongoing research: (1) understanding how and where fish populations might be able to cope with future environmental change and informing water and watershed management to foster future resilience in freshwater ecosystems; and (2) advancing the Cumulative Resilience Screening Index, a tool that assists regions, states, and communities in assessing and further developing resilience to acute climate events.

Presenters: Joe Ebersole and Kevin Summers, EPA Office of Research And Development

Biological and Socioeconomic Implications of Residential Neighborhood Characteristics

Watch the Recording: Biological and Socioeconomic Implications of Residential Neighborhood Characteristics (Presented on August 17, 2021)

Studies at EPA are showing that health disparities can be influenced by the neighborhood environment. People who live in communities where there is environmental pollution, lower incomes, traffic and lack of green spaces, for example, may be at greater risk of negative health outcomes. Neighborhood‐level socioeconomic status or deprivation can influence various health outcomes of residents and may, in fact, exacerbate responses to local environmental conditions, such as air pollution. Research at EPA examines effects of neighborhood factors on cardiovascular and overall health as well as molecular indicators of aging. This research also examines whether exposure to air pollution and neighborhood factors combined contribute to greater health effects than those observed with either exposure alone. It is increasingly important to understand how neighborhood factors and air pollution combined may affect health outcomes.

Presenters: Timothy Wade, Anne Weaver, and Cavin Ward-Caviness, EPA Office of Research And Development

Modeling PFAS Air Emissions, Chemistry, and Deposition

Watch the Recording: Modeling PFAS Air Emissions, Chemistry, and Deposition (Presented on May 18, 2021)

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic compounds, and there is growing concern that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse health outcomes. PFAS air emissions may contribute to human exposure through direct inhalation or ingestion of contaminated food and water after deposition to ecosystems.

This webinar discusses air quality modeling techniques being developed to quantify the atmospheric air concentrations and deposition rates of PFAS from large fluorochemical manufacturers. Specifically, the Community Multiscale Air Quality model (CMAQ) is applied to a case study in Eastern North Carolina to model the PFAS emissions and transport at fine scale (1 km horizontal resolution). These results are an important step in understanding the behavior of significant PFAS emissions from a point source, and can be used to inform PFAS emission inventory development as well as studies quantifying exposure and biological effects. 

Presenters: Emma D'Ambro and Ben Murphy, EPA Office of Research And Development

Implications of Volatile Chemical Products for Ozone and Particulate Matter in Urban Atmospheres

Watch the Recording: Implications of Volatile Chemical Products for Ozone and Particulate Matter in Urban Atmospheres (Presented on March 16, 2021)

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from adhesives, cleaning agents, personal care products, paints, pesticides, and other volatile chemical products (VCPs) result in human exposure in the vicinity of product use. Evaporated VOCs also react in the atmosphere to produce secondary pollutants including ozone and secondary organic aerosol, a contributor to fine particles (PM2.5). While VOCs from these sources have been part of the EPA National Emission Inventory for decades, reductions in tailpipe VOC emissions mean that this source is of increasing interest for air quality in urban locations. Southern California is one such location that experiences ozone concentrations persistently in excess of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard and where the EPA Community Multiscale Air Quality model largely underestimates the organic portion of PM2.5 in most air quality management applications.

Current and ongoing work at EPA seeks to understand the magnitude of emissions from VCPs as well as the chemical reactions that result in criteria pollutant formation. This webinar will cover how the contribution of VCPs to ozone and fine particle pollution was constrained using models and measurements with a focus on southern California.

Presenter: Havala O.T. Pye, EPA Office of Research And Development

Communicating Air Quality During Fires: The Science Behind the AirNow Sensor Data Pilot

Watch the Recording: Communicating Air Quality During Fires: The Science Behind the AirNow Sensor Data Pilot (Presented on January 28, 2021)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) conducted the AirNow Sensor Data Pilot during the 2020 fire season to provide the public with air sensor information on the air pollutant, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), especially during smoke events from fires. The sensor data is shown on the Fire and Smoke Map, part of the popular AirNow.gov website. The air sensors are among several new additions to the Fire and Smoke Map, made possible with innovative technical approaches developed and applied by EPA to compare sensor data with data from regulatory grade monitors and temporary monitors provided by EPA, USFS, states, tribes and local air quality agencies. This recording is of a webinar held on 1/28/2001 and provides an overview of the AirNow Sensor Data Pilot and the development of the U.S.-wide correction equation for PurpleAir PM2.5 sensor data and its appropriateness for correcting PM2.5 measurements during smoke events.

Presenters: Karoline Johnson Barkjohn, Amara Holder, and Andrea Clements, EPA Office of Research and Development; Ron Evans, EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards; Peter Lahm and Sim Larkin, USDA Forest Service - AirFire; and Stuart Illson, University of Washington - AirFire

Air Quality and Healthy Hearts: Progress and Remaining Challenges

Watch the Recording: Air Quality and Healthy Hearts: Progress and Remaining Challenges (Presented on May 28, 2020)

EPA is working to assess the impact and improve our understanding of air pollution morbidity and mortality in vulnerable populations, including individuals with cardiovascular disease. Exposure to airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with adverse cardiovascular health events including heart attacks, stroke, and death―particularly among those with pre-existing conditions. However, a better understanding of the relationship between air pollution and cardiovascular health is needed to develop strategies to protect vulnerable people with heart and vascular disease. This webinar provides an overview of newly published research by EPA scientists and their colleagues that helps fill key knowledge gaps. The findings, published in leading scientific journals, offer new insights into the progress made to protect at-risk individuals with chronic health problems. The research also identifies remaining environmental health challenges, such as determining risks faced from sustained exposure to elevated PM2.5 from wildfire smoke, which is being observed due to more frequent and larger wildland fires in the United States.

Presenters: Wayne Cascio, Ana Rappold, and Cavin Ward-Caviness, EPA Office of Research and Development  

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Last updated on September 18, 2026